Eternal Ephemeral

Eternal Ephemeral, watercolor/pastel on Arches cold press watercolor paper mounted on board,
 24 x 12"

Practically everyday, I make my way to Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate. It is a place of beauty in all seasons, but especially so in the fleeting season of Spring. The Spring Beauties give a pristine covering to the grounds and above ground, everything seems to be popping out at once. The Dogwoods are just behind the Redbuds. Even the late-to-leaf Ash trees are popping out. On a recent day, the loveliness was almost too much to bear. I was reminded of years when my mentor in the art of pastel, Fay Moore, would have workshops around the time of the Derby. The timing was so appropriate as Fay would welcome us into expressing our own beautiful (or quirky, or sporty) worlds. Under her guidance, I was able to create and dwell in the ephemeral Spring for an extended season. So, when I saw the ancient Ash leafing out so freshly, I thought of Fay Moore and I knew I wanted to recreate this scene with watercolor and pastel. Also, since I am already washing my hands many times a day, what would be a few many more???

Starting with a watercolor underpainting

For some reason, I was inspired to make my sketch using hard pastel--perhaps not the best choice, but  interesting to try. Experimenting is always useful. My watercolors here can be found on leftover palettes (yogurt lids) from workshops. I like the premixed, murky colors.  In general, I like to underpaint the sky area with a pink/red/orange color. It makes a more convincing sky, in my opinion. 

Laying down values

Normally, I would also underpaint the grassy areas with a red, too. But, in this scene, the Spring Beauties are more prominent than the grass, so I'm keeping this area properly light. In fact, my main goal with the watercolor is to establish values. This will make the rest of the painting a lot simpler. Everything runs into everything else and layers of paint washes and splashes give a rich base for the pastel. I double check the basic composition when the paint is dry (I've been painting on a horizontal surface) and correct any obvious aberrations.

Starting to lay in the pastel

   I like to start with the sky, or the upper, left hand corner. I'm defining the 'negative space' and also background. Generally, you can layer on the pastel as the subject matter is layered in life. I work quickly and freely, knowing that I can always correct with some watercolor or even just water to bring back the 'tooth' in the paper. After I added some of the spring leaf color, I became unhappy with the color of the sky, so I went back and made the sky more of a Robin's egg blue color. Sitting with the painting for a day and looking at it from different perspectives is useful. 

My completed painting celebrates both the ephemeral nature of Spring, but also things that last, like this Blue Ash tree planted by Henry Clay perhaps? Fay Moore is no longer with us, but for me, her inspiration and enthusiasm lives on with each new Spring. At a time when human life seems so fragile, it is healing for me to remember that I get to be a part of this beautiful world.